Missile strike on Tel Aviv triggers Israeli threats against Iran's Supreme Leader — the details

Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Mariella Succar
A wave of Iranian missiles struck southern and central Israel early Thursday, including Tel Aviv, leaving at least 200 people injured and causing widespread damage to residential buildings and infrastructure.
The attack triggered scenes of destruction and panic across the country, with many Israelis describing it as an unprecedented moment of fear and anxiety.
The scale of the strike prompted Israeli leaders to escalate their threats against Tehran.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed to the targeting of Soroka Medical Center in the southern city of Be'er Sheva as justification for intensifying Israeli strikes on Iran.
The threats came amid scenes of chaos across the country, after air raid sirens reportedly failed to activate in Tel Aviv and several other areas.
According to military estimates, one of the missiles that exploded over central Israel was equipped with a cluster warhead, dispersing smaller explosive submunitions across several areas near Tel Aviv, including Jaffa, Or Yehuda, and Gush Dan.
Israeli officials believe the use of such warheads serves two purposes: first, to relieve pressure on Iranian cities facing Israeli bombardment; and second, to increase psychological pressure on the Israeli public by targeting civilian areas and a major hospital—moves aimed at fueling demands within Israel to end the war.
While reports initially suggested that a missile hit the hospital directly, several Israeli experts clarified that it landed nearby.
Had it struck the hospital itself, they said, the number of casualties would have been far higher.
Despite the attacks, the Israeli military remains committed to continuing its operations as it awaits a U.S. response.
Defense officials are also pressing for an $8.5 billion boost in the military budget to restock weapons and sustain the war effort.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

LBCI

42 minutes ago

• LBCI

Israeli strikes target Iranian reactor being built, nearby plant, IAEA says

Israeli military strikes hit Iran's Khondab Heavy Water Research Reactor, a project under construction that had not begun operating, and damaged the nearby plant that makes heavy water, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday. Israel has struck several nuclear facilities in Iran. The heavy water reactor as originally designed would have been able to easily produce plutonium that could eventually have been used in a nuclear weapon, though Iran denies seeking such weapons. Under a 2015 deal with major powers, however, the plant was redesigned to reduce the proliferation risk and its core was removed and filled with concrete. Iran had informed the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency the reactor would start operation in 2026. "IAEA has information the Khondab (former Arak) heavy water research reactor, under construction, was hit. It was not operational and contained no nuclear material, so no radiological effects," the IAEA said in a post on X. Heavy water reactors use heavy water, also known as deuterium oxide, as a moderator, a material that slows down fast-moving neutrons released during the nuclear fission process that generates heat in the reactor. In its first posting on the attack, the IAEA said it had no information indicating the nearby plant that produces heavy water had been hit. It later issued a statement revising that assessment. "While damage to the nearby Heavy Water Production Plant was initially not visible, it is now assessed that key buildings at the facility were damaged, including the distillation unit," the IAEA statement said. Reuters

LBCI

43 minutes ago

• LBCI

Hezbollah's Naim Qassem backs Iran, says group is not ‘on the sidelines'

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem declared Iran a global symbol of resistance and vowed unwavering support for its leadership amid rising tensions with the United States and Israel. In a statement issued Thursday, Qassem praised Iran for championing the oppressed and backing regional resistance movements, particularly in Palestine and Lebanon, adding that Tehran's support for liberation movements has come at a high cost but remains principled and consistent. He dismissed U.S. and Israeli claims that Iran's nuclear program poses a threat, calling the program peaceful and legitimate under international law. 'Their only pretext is uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes—something that poses no harm and serves the Iranian people,' he said. Qassem warned that American threats against Iran's leadership represent a broader attack on the region's people and on global freedom movements. "The U.S. is dragging the region into chaos and instability, but it will gain nothing but shame and failure,' he stated. Hezbollah, he stressed, does not stand on the sidelines. 'We are not neutral between Iran's legitimate rights and the aggression of the United States and Israel,' he said. 'We stand firmly alongside Iran against this global injustice.' Qassem called on 'all free people, the oppressed, and voices of reason' to publicly support Iran and rally around its leadership. 'Unity is the only way to block the path of domination and stop the goals of this aggression,' he declared. He concluded by stating that neither the U.S. nor Israel would succeed in bringing down the Iranian people or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

LBCI

5 hours ago

• LBCI

Israeli army says Iran used multi-warhead missile, posing new challenge to air defenses

The Israeli military announced on Thursday that Iran had used a missile equipped with multiple warheads in its recent attack, marking what it described as a new challenge to Israel's air defense systems.